By Stephen Ojo, Minna
The Niger Foods Company has taken legal action against a guarantor, Mallam Idris Usman Makanta, over the company’s inability to recover a N3.7 billion loan granted to Shikafa Cluster Farmers during the 2024 farming season in Niger State.
In a statement released in Minna, the company disclosed that only N25 million—representing about 0.74% of the total loan—had been recovered despite Makanta’s written commitment to ensure full repayment.
The Chairman of Niger Foods Company, Mr. Sammy Adigun, dismissed allegations that the case was politically motivated. According to him, the issue arose strictly from a breach of contractual obligations under the Niger Foods Input Financing Program, designed to support genuine smallholder farmers through transparent and bank-verified input financing.
“All farms were mapped, coordinates recorded, and three critical documents were duly signed by Mr. Makanta — a Farming Framework Agreement, a Global Standing Instruction (GSI), and a Letter of Guarantee, in which he personally undertook to ensure 100% recovery in case of default,” Adigun explained.
Makanta was initially arraigned before Chief Magistrate Court 1 on November 3, 2025, based on a First Information Report (FIR) marked MN/CR/CMC/55/2025 and was granted bail. However, he was later re-arrested and detained before being re-arraigned on Monday following a fresh FIR filed by ASP Emmanuel Ochayi, the police prosecutor.
The defense counsel, Barrister Mohammed Tsado, objected to the re-arraignment, arguing that the defendant had been granted bail and that the police acted in contempt of court by rearresting him.
Chief Magistrate Murtala Mohammed Ibrahim declined jurisdiction, refusing to mention the fresh FIR and directing the prosecution to transfer the case to the Federal or State High Court within 24 hours. 👉 Read more investigative reports on www.krestnews.com